Elisabeth Wintzer

Elisabeth Wintzer was born on 16 June 1863 in Suderode (today: Bad Suderode, Germany). She studied music at the Leipzig Conservatory under Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn. She finished her studies and around that time she married the painter Otto Gerlach.
In the following years, there is no evidence of any musical activity by Elisabeth Wintzer (or Gerlach-Wintzer), suggesting that, in keeping with the social conventions of the time, she did not pursue a professional career but instead managed the household for her husband. The marriage appears to have been troubled, however, and around 1900 Elisabeth Wintzer began a romantic relationship with the young writer Manfred Kyber. In 1902, the couple moved to Berlin; by that time, her marriage to Otto Gerlach existed only on paper. Otto Gerlach died in 1908, though her relationship with Manfred Kyber—which resulted in the birth of an illegitimate daughter—had already ended in 1907.
Following the separation from her husband, Elisabeth Wintzer found herself financially independent and turned to her musical training. She set early poems by Manfred Kyber to music and established a certain reputation as a composer of songs, especially children’s songs. Several of her works were published, including by Simrock in Berlin and Reinecke in Leipzig. In addition to composing, she worked as a music writer, contributing articles and reviews to newspapers and specialist journals.
In 1915, she published a widely acclaimed book about the man and musician Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, issued by the prestigious publisher Breitkopf & Härtel. She was also active in the Scout movement and ran a boarding house in Berlin. The violinist Fanny Marks Seibels mentions an extended stay at Elisabeth Wintzer’s boarding house in her autobiography.
Elisabeth Wintzer died on 12 June 1933 in Bremen.

Elisabeth Wintzer’s catalogue consists primarily of songs, including numerous children’s songs. In addition, she composed several chamber music works and two pieces of incidental music for the stage.

Ave Maria

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the song "Ave Maria" for voice and piano (or harmonium) by Elisabeth Wintzer. The work sets a text by Manfred Kyber to music. The manuscript has an inscription to a person called "Luz Kaufmann" and is dated 1911. But that doesn't refer necessarily to the composition of the piece. Most of the compositions on texts by Manfred Kyber were written during the time of their relationship around 1905. I assume the song was composed then as well.